THE CONJURING: LAST RITES
**
Directed by Michael Chaves.
Starring Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Mia Tomlinson.
Horror, US, 135 Minutes, Certificate 15.
Released in UK cinemas on 5th September by Warner Bros
Back in 2013, the original CONJURING film was something of a breath of fresh air; a major studio horror film released at the height of summer, something we may take a little for granted these days, but back then was something of a rarity. Based on a “true” story, this introduction of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, told in director James Wan’s subtle as a brick style, went down a storm at the box office, birthing not only its own franchise but also a further three spin-off films, two of which would go on to spawn their own sequels. Now, perhaps surprisingly, the main franchise is coming to a close. This entry, described in the foreboding opening credits crawl as “their final investigation” and the case that “tore the family apart” certainly projects a sense of finality.
Like all of the preceding entries, the “true” nature of these films cannot be taken seriously on any level at all. Beginning in the early 1960’s, we meet a young Ed and Lorraine back at the beginning of their career. During a case involving a haunted mirror, one of those over-designed spooky household objects so beloved of this franchise, the heavily pregnant Lorraine is forced to abandon the case. Cut to Pennsylvania ,1986, where we meet the Smurl family. Teenage daughter Heather receives a gift for her confirmation; a very familiar ornate large mirror that seems to trigger a series of supernatural events. After much deliberation, involving the Warren’s daughter Judy getting married and Ed’s heart problems, the family travel to the Smurl’s house for what will turn out to be their final showdown with the supernatural.
Even for a franchise that provided lesser results with every new entry, this is a severely underwhelming way to bring the curtain down. Nothing new is brought to the table in this formulaic spookshow. Michael Chaves, returning to the franchise after THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA, THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT and THE NUN II doubles down here on the complete lack of promise he has shown so far as a director. He is responsible for delivering the darkest film of the year. Not in subject matter, this is literally the most visually obscure film in quite some time. Even after an incident involving the main kitchen light, the Smurl family choose to live in the darkest house in America, deciding to do their chores in pitch black rooms and only deciding to turn the lights on at the end of the scene so we can be subjected to yet another quiet-LOUD jump scare.
The one constant throughout this franchise has been the dependable work of Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as Lorraine and Ed. Very different from their extremely shady real life counterparts, they at least bring a warmth and genuine chemistry to the film here. Such a shame then that it gets buried here under an ineffective smorgasbord of high volume pedestrian filmmaking that manages to shoehorn in a number of unearned callbacks to characters from previous entries that you may have forgotten about. Oh, and Annabelle, the most annoying doll in cinema history, has been shoved in here again also, despite there being no need at all for such a thing.
In a summer that has delivered such genuinely original and successful films such as BRING HER BACK, WEAPONS and the energising re-invention of 28 YEARS LATER, this weak film suffers so much in comparison. At the very least we won’t have to suffer through this lazy “saga” again with its stale storytelling, tired scares and somewhat liberal approach to the truth. Is this truly the end? Let’s hope so.
Iain MacLeod